Life After Mother's Day

Life After Mother's Day

AmericanGrown CAGrown flower fields Late Spring Lisianthus Mother's Day

Yes, there is life after Mother's Day.  The passing of our industry's "Super Bowl" doesn't mean we sit back and wait until next year.  No, the outpouring of  flowers for this holiday starts the momentum -- poised at the brink of summer, Mother's Day marks the beginning of new growth. 

Sunny Delphinium

In fact, life after Mother's Day is pretty fantastic.  Sun-soaked fields bring forth a cornucopia of warm-weather crops, wedding season is in full swing, and the flush of new color and flower varieties is simply irresistible. 

Matsumoto Asters

Life after Mother's Day marks the arrival of lovely, layered lisianthus as well as the dramatic entrance of zantedeschia (or z-callas as we call them)!

Our hoop houses fill up and our fields flourish; it is truly one of the best times to be a flower grower (and flower buyer!). Life after Mother's Day is a time for enhancing established relationships, bolstering new contacts, and continuing growth.

Royal Lilies (LA Hybrids)

Brassica

Months from now, our Arcata fields will bring forth summer iris, crocosmia, and montbretia, and our Willow Creek Farm will build its kingdom of cotinus and rosehips...... but all of that is to come; for now, let's focus on the present -- the post-Mother's Day glow, the warm breeze, the soft sunshine.  There is life after Mother's day, indeed!

American Flowers Week

American Flowers Week

#OriginMatters American Flowers Week AmericanGrown CAGrown Debra Prinzing Domestic Flowers local flowers Mayesh Slow Flowers Wholesale

For the second year in a row, American Flowers Week is taking off! This week-long celebration of domestically grown flowers was created by Slowflowers.com's Debra Prinzing, a writer, speaker, and leading advocate for American flowers and the farmers who grow them.

 Why Dedicate a Week to American Flowers? 

American Flowers Week was organized to unite America's flower farmers with the US floral industry, while also engaging consumers in the conversation about the origin of their flowers.  This is a much-needed conversation, as 80% of flowers purchased in the US are imports, a move that has pushed 58% of US flower farms out of business since 1992.

American Flowers Week wants to change that.  After all, while 74% of consumers do not know the origins of their flowers, 58% prefer American Grown, if given the choice.

Prinzing points out that, "Consumers are more conscious than ever about the origins of the goods they purchase, especially when it comes to food — and flowers."  This is why it is important to celebrate the U.S. flower farmers who grow a diverse selection of florals year-round, as well as salute the floral designers whose values inspire them to source domestically.

  

American Flowers Week is buttressed by the support of the program, American Grown Flowers; a certification program, brand, and coalition of flower farmers--large and small--across the United States.  Through its iconic branding, advocacy, sponsorship, and wildly successful Field to Vase Dinner Tour, American Grown Flowers has been a giant in the domestic flower conversation.  

Kasey Cronquist, administrator of the Certified American Grown program and CEO/Ambassador of the California Cut Flower Commission, adds, “Origin matters, and we believe a week like this helps drive public awareness about hard-working American flower farmers that they can support all year long. Buying American Grown Flowers makes a difference.”

They aren't the only ones for the cause; one large Los Angeles-based wholesaler, Mayesh Wholesale Florist, is another American Flowers Week Sponsor this year, signaling a positive shift in the floral industry.  Their example is important, as the majority of wholesalers do not source domestically grown flowers (a move which then affects the flowers sourced by Grocers, E-Commerce, and Florists).  As one of our floral buyers, Mayesh has been a longtime supporter of U.S. Flower Farmers.  According to their CEO, Patrick Dahlson, "Mayesh is excited to promote American Flowers Week to highlight our American grown flowers and continue our support of the growing community.”

 What Can You Do To Support American Grown Flowers? 

If you are a florist, retailer, wholesaler, or floral designer this campaign is timed to coincide with America’s Independence Day on July 4th, allowing a perfect patriotic opportunity to promote American grown flowers.  See the wealth of promotional resources here: American Flowers Week Free Downloads.

 If you are a flower lover, check out the Why and How below:

We, and many other U.S. farmers, florists, and wholesalers, will be all over Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook with our American Grown blooms over the next week; follow along and add your own photos with the hashtag #americanflowersweek.  

Join the movement and Take Pride In Your Flowers! 

 

 

The Healing Power of Matricaria

The Healing Power of Matricaria

AmericanGrown CAGrown Chamomile matricaria Oxnard white button white cushion white daisy yellow button

 One of the most adorable flowers we grow on the farm is Matricaria, commonly known as Chamomile.

Yellow Button, White Button, and White Daisy Matricaria

These daisy-like and button-shaped flowers hail from the Aster Family, and they are composed mainly of picnics, puppy dogs, and sunshine.  Okay, the first two aren't true, but Matricaria is a natural summertime crop, so sunshine does play a big part in bringing these blooms to their cheerful form.

White Button Matricaria

Matricaria comes in a few different forms, so before we dive into how they're grown, let's get the variety names straight from the get-go. 

Clockwise from top left: White Button, Yellow Button, White Cushion, and White Daisy Matricaria 

The top two varieties--white and yellow button matricaria--have no petals, hence the name "button."  The bottom two varieties resemble miniature daisies; white cushion matricaria features little white cushions with layers of petals forming teeny tiny fringe, while white daisy matricaria has layers of white petals surrounding a bigger, yellow center.

Matricaria Growing Practices

We grow all our Matricaria at our sunny, southern California Farm in Oxnard, and have been doing so for about a decade.

We grow these flowers year-round in hoop houses, which requires a little bit of seasonal tweaking to our methods; while Matricaria likes the sun and heat, but too much light will stunt its growth.

Matricaria is a summer-blooming flower, so to provide a sufficient amount of heat in winter, we cover the hoop houses with plastic.  The crops in springtime need little to no environmental control because the coastal, Southern California climate matches up perfectly with their natural growing cycle.

However, when we plant Matricaria in the summer, we have "passed" their natural growing cycle, so we cover the hoop houses with shade cloth to mimic the early spring.  This is because the long days of summer make the Matricaria want to bloom as soon as possible, but with the use of shade cloth, we are able to get them to stretch to lengths of 24-32 inches.  When we're ready for them to bloom, we simply allow them have as much light as possible.

Healing Properties of Matricaria

An added benefit to growing Matricaria is that much like its Chamomile Tea counterpart, the crop has beneficial properties, except instead of soothing a sore throat or aching belly, Matricaria crops restore essential nutrients in the soil.

Matricaria is a key player in soil health and is an essential part of our Matsumoto Aster crop rotation.    By rotating Aster crops with our Matricaria, we are able to amend the soil, restore nutrients, prevent physarum (a type of soil mold), and improve the total amount of flowers we get from every crop, all while growing these gorgeous, whimsical blooms.  

Sitting in a hoop house of matricaria always seems to have a soothing mental benefit as well.  The bright flowers move with the slightest breeze, creating a gorgeous, meditative show of floral movement.

Matricaria Arrangements

Matricaria is a cheerful filler that provides immediate color, volume, and delicate texture.  It is fun to use in bouquets; its earthy, wildflower look adds a rustic and summery element to arrangements, making it a popular choice for outdoor, garden, or country-style weddings.

If you're looking for more Matricaria Inspiration, check out the Matricaria Bouquets Pinterest page. It's chock full of gorgeous photos of various Matricaria arrangements.

Make your summer a little bit sweeter, a little bit brighter, and a little bit more fun with the use of cheerful Matricaria!

The Star Power of Matsumoto Asters

The Star Power of Matsumoto Asters

AmericanGrown bright CAGrown Callistephus Matsumoto Asters Oxnard

Lady Aster here to talk about my namesake, the bright and lovely Matsumoto Aster. 

Hot Pink Matsumoto Asters

The Matsumoto Aster, also known as the Japanese Aster (Callistephus), features lengthy, sturdy stems topped with incredibly soft, brightly colored petals.  The long-lasting flowers come in colors of red, hot pink, pink, purple, lavender, and bi-color which surround a rich, yellow center; an arrangement reminiscent of a crown or a star.

Purple and Bi-Lavender

Matsumoto Asters are fun to grow, and unlike our tulips, irises, and lilies—which we pick while still in the bud—we let asters grow until they show full color.  Another difference between Matsumotos and the previously mentioned bulb flowers is that asters are grown from rooted seed, which requires no pre-cooling before planting, saving us time and cooler space.  

Pink Matsumoto Asters

Typically, asters are a late summer/early fall variety, but we use the mild, coastal climate of our Oxnard Farm in Southern California in combination with our carefully organized hoop house program to grow them year-round.  The warmth and light of our hoop houses encourages long stem lengths and formation of buds; when we're ready for the final period of development (flowering), we shorten the amount of time they're exposed to light.  Soon after, the buds flower, bringing their own bright light into the world.

Growing Matsumotos in Hoops

The entire growing process from seedling to flower takes approximately 10-15 weeks to complete.    We know they're ready when their stem length is at least 22-24" tall, and their blooms are showing full color.

Freshly picked Matsumotos

We also utilize the practice of crop rotation to maintain the quality of our soil as well as improve the amount of flowers we get out of every crop. Once a year we rotate our asters with another crop, and this promotes the restoration of essential nutrients in the soil.  It's hard work, but worth it for the land and our flowers.

We've been growing Matsumoto Asters now for well over a decade and our experience shows in the final product.  Our buyers love the long stems and super-bright, big blooms that come out of our Oxnard Farm, and we love the challenge of keeping the Matsumoto Market on its toes!

Harvest Time

Asters bring a cheerful vibrancy and focal punch to any flower arrangement or bouquet (and they also look amazing on their own).  Their long vase life and variety of colors make them a popular item for floral designers, wedding bouquets, and basically for any arrangement that needs a touch of bright whimsy.

Matsumoto Aster Arrangements

 What can you do with a bouquet of these bright stars?

 

How Wild is Your Lizzy?

How Wild is Your Lizzy?

AmericanGrown CAGrown Lisianthus Oxnard wildflower

It's Lisianthus season, and these layered flowers are capturing the hearts of floral designers and flower lovers all over the US.  We’ve been growing Lisianthus (affectionately referred to as "Lizzy") for about a decade, and every year we see the demand for Lizzy increase more and more; taking a look at the photo below, it’s easy to see why!

Purple is the most popular lisianthus color

Lisianthus’s delicate, unfurling trumpet-shaped blooms of white, purple, cream, peach, pink, or bi-color fully capture the ever-popular wildflower esthetic.  Its dainty buds continue to open along the smooth, green stem, giving the viewer a continual show and making it perfect in progressive bouquets.

Lisianthus Arrangements

Lisianthus is native to the warm, dry prairie regions of the Americas, and the particular variety that we grow—Grandiflorum—has been bred to be a long-lasting cut flower.  Lizzy's need for a lot of heat and light makes it a great Southern California crop, which is why we grow them at our farm in Oxnard.

Growing Practices

We begin planting the very first plugs in October.  Because we start in the cool of fall, these first plants will grow very slowly, usually giving us their first stems in February or March.  However, after these first stems are harvested, the Southern California heat of spring and summer allows the plant to give us a second flush of flowers about 10-12 weeks later.

Hoop House full of Lizzys

We plant in hoop houses and keep watering to a minimum.  To give Lizzy the heat it needs to stretch to its enviable height, we cover our hoop houses and keep the flaps closed which really warms it up.  Not only does Lisianthus like heat and light—they love a dry environment, so our team takes great care to maintain the proper moisture level in the soil.  

Freshly picked white, cream, and pink lisianthus

Once each crop reaches the length we want, it is time to harvest. We typically pick from early spring to late fall, giving us a 9-month Lisianthus season.

Design Practices

Lisianthus is a very popular as a wedding flower.  Designers especially love the fact that Lisianthus has both a long vase life and long stems (2 weeks and 24 inches, respectively).  Its length gives height and visual power.

The round, delicate, unfurling blooms add elegance and mass to arrangements, and its florets work wonderfully in boutonnieres and corsages.  Its origin as a prairie flower makes it ideal for country-style, au natural, and wildflower arrangements, and its aesthetic screams "American grown."

We offer all the great lisianthus colors, so no matter what you have planned for summer, we will have a selection of these long-lasting, romantic blooms for any occasion.

Our Lisianthus Offerings

American Grown Mother's Day

American Grown Mother's Day

AmericanGrown CAGrown local flowers Mother's Day teamwork

As you well know, this Sunday is Mother’s Day--the Holy Grail of holidays for flower farmers.  The past three weeks (nay, months!) have been a highly focused team effort to make sure our flowers are picked, bunched, sleeved, and shipped on time for the big day.

Royal Lily picking and bunching

All team members are on-deck, clocking long hours and even working outside of their "home" departments in order to help bunch tulips, sleeve lilies, and pack boxes.  Teamwork is a fundamental part of a working flower farm, and it is especially poignant as this year marks the second Mother's Day for Certified American Grown—a movement which embodies teamwork on a larger scale, as it binds American flower farms (large and small) together under one, overarching brand.  

American flower farms face steep competition from flowers grown offshore (over 80% of blooms purchased in the US are from South America); however, studies show that the majority of consumers want to support local businesses and prefer to buy domestically grown flowers--they just need the opportunity.  That's exactly what the Certified American Grown Label (placed or printed on all our flower sleeves) is meant to do--help consumers who care easily identify domestic flora.

 
By buying American Grown flowers you help our environment (less freight mileage), support the US agricultural economy, and provide yourself with the freshest, longest-lasting flowers available.  Not to mention, you are also supporting fair wages and better working environments for the people who plant, pick, and process the flowers, too (something that goes unregulated in many South American Flower Farms).

A peek at this year’s American Grown Mother’s Day Rush at Sun Valley:    

Bunching and sleeving Roselilies

Fresh-picked Royal lilies

A sea of flowers

Tulips ready to go

 The Mother's Day Flowers:

CAgrown Iris

American Grown Color

American Grown Royal Lilies

American Grown Viburnum

This Mother’s Day, take the time to celebrate with flowers grown domestically.  Look for the Certified American Grown label or ask your favorite retailer where their flowers coming from. You CAN make a difference!